


Always

by deutschistklasse



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Birth, Dadko, F/M, Fire Lord Zuko, Fire Nation Royal Family, Fluff and Angst, Missing Scene, Post-Canon, nothing graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:29:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27051949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deutschistklasse/pseuds/deutschistklasse
Summary: Little Izumi arrives in the world. Zuko falls in love again.
Relationships: Izumi & Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 115





	Always

_Breathe in. One-two-three-four. You can be calm. What’s happening is natural. Breathe out._

_Breathe in. One-two-three-four… Don’t think about the screams. There isn’t anything wrong. Let your worries go. Breathe out._

_Breathe in. One-two-three… The healers are with her. They know what to do. They do. Breathe out._

_Breathe in. One-two… You won’t help her barging in. Stay calm. Breathe out._

_Breathe in..._

\------------------------------------

Zuko paced the corridor in front of the labour room. He was escorted out by the midwives about half an hour ago when he broke out in cold sweat and began to feel dizzy. Even so, he would have stayed if not for Mai’s somewhat aggressive threat of rendering him unable to father any more children. She punctuated it with a knife embedded into the door.

As the minutes passed, Zuko felt more and more worried. The screams got worse. He knew that Mai was in good hands, but he wasn’t there to make sure of it. What if there were complications? The ringing in his ears returned, and his vision tunneled onto the door in front of him. The screams filled up his whole being with dread.

Then there was silence. Before he could rush into the room in full panic, there was a cry, loud and shrill, and determined to announce the arrival of a new life into the world. It was the sweetest sound he heard in his life.

The rush of relief had him collapsing on the floor. He sensed his knees hitting the hard tiles, and he would feel them throbbing later, but for now, he was just so happy, and relieved, and proud and feeling so much love for his wife and child, even without seeing them.

The door opened.

„Your Majesty. You may come in.”

Mai was pale, and sweaty, and worn out, rumpled hair sticking to her forehead, and in Zuko’s eyes, she was the most beautiful woman in the whole world.

She looked at him, and Zuko was lost in her eyes, falling in love again with her. Then she directed her tired gaze toward the tiny bundle in her arms. After a few quiet minutes, wherein Zuko absorbed the sight, she lifted the kid and offered the newborn to Zuko.

„Do you want to hold her?”

So they had a girl. He cradled the baby with trembling hands. They dwarfed the child. He was almost afraid of hurting her, of somehow breaking her, but Mai's hand on his arm steadied him.

„Don’t be scared. You’re doing fine. Just hold her.”

Zuko inspected the little princess, the golden eyes, the reddish skin, the soft wisp of hair on the child’s crown. She was perfect.

„What do you want to name her?”

„Izumi.”

Izumi. A good name for their little princess. She was the Fire Nation’s future, she could be a fountain of joy, a spring of life, healing, and change. She could have the power of the water, still and deadly like her mother, raging and encouraging like his friends. Water always found a way to move on, to change, and to adapt.

And if she ended up not fulfilling their hopes, that was fine too. She was their daughter. She would be loved, unconditionally, without strings attached. He sealed his vow with a kiss on her daughter's forehead.

_Always._


End file.
